Of Things Remembered and Things Not Yet Known
by AwesomePastaLuv
Summary: Sofia was the Sole Survivor of Vault 111. It certainly wasn't a title that she'd asked for. She certainly hadn't asked to be the only one left alive. Nate should have been there too. Not shot dead by some maniac who helped kidnapped their son. Now she's alone. Or maybe not. In the wasteland, trust is a precious commodity. Is there anyone left for Sofia to trust in the Wasteland?
1. Holotape - 2057 to 2062

Author Note: This is my first Fallout 4 story, I've been drafting paper versions for years and this crap came to me in a dream; so I kind of just ran with it. I haven't started writing the actual story of the F!SS being out in the wasteland. There are topics and things in these first four chapters that might be difficult for some people and might trigger others. Last bit, the format of the first four chapters is more like listening to a holotape recording. In the dream I had, my sole survivor character was narrating these through like black and white scenes.

That's all I've got to say. Read, review and please be kind. No one has ever learned anything from flame reviews. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout 4 or Bethesda or any of the other things that are realworld oriented.

* * *

Holotape Recording - October 19, 2057

I wouldn't remember this day although my parents, Edmund and Elizabeth, would talk about it with nostalgia in their voices and tears in their eyes whenever the topic was brought up amongst family and friends. My sister, Esther, was already six years old by this time; when I was born. That's why this date is so important to my parents. It's the day that I was born, six weeks, bringing an end to a very tumultuous pregnancy. They didn't think that I would make it. My mother was very ill as well at the time but we both managed to pull through. My parents named me Sofia Dorothy Quincy.

I guess you could say that I had a good childhood. We had a nice house on Scott Street with a huge backyard. I kind of remember that it was a blue house with a wrap around porch. There was an ice cream truck that drove around the neighborhood during the summer giving out ice cream to the kids. My sister said we had nice neighbors and that we lived on a quiet street. According to her, most of the families were military like us.

Dad was an officer in the Army but since we lived close enough to his base, he was home more often than the other army dads that we knew. He always said he was working on a secret project at work and that he couldn't talk about it at home, which my little kid-self thought was pretty cool. I thought my daddy was a super-secret spy or something. Dad had red hair and green eyes, I thought he was the most handsome person ever and when I was 4 I begged him to marry me because I needed to marry the most handsome man in the world. He said he loved my mum too much to marry me, (he laughed but he was being nice in telling my very temperamental 4-year-old self that daddies don't marry their daughters.)

My mum was pretty. She was tall and thin and had this super pretty blonde hair. She always wore dresses, never pants. She was always well put together like we could expect company at any moment. She was always baking or cooking too. That kitchen always had a fresh stock of cookies, cakes, pies or anything else my mother could think to create.

My sister, Esther was older than me and we were radically different. Or maybe we weren't really all that different since she was so much older than me and I was a baby for the most part. When she was home from school, she would sing me songs and play games with me. So, in that respect, we got along great. When I turned 5, Mum allowed Esther to take me through the neighborhood to the little store that sold the fancy sodas. She gave us enough money to split a soda and the trip there and back was quite the adventure for my 5-year-old self.

I remember loving that house and sometimes, I wish I could remember more.

* * *

I know this was short and the perspective is a bit strange but I hope it worked out well.

~ipastitalia


	2. Holotape - 2062 to 2069

Onwards to Chapter 2.

Warning - This chapter includes some sensitive topics like family death, mental illness, depression and suicide, and trauma. I encourage you to keep reading and please PM me if you need to reach out to someone. This scenario that I used actually happened to a dear friend of mine and its been many years and she's still recovering from the trauma of what happened.

I don't own Fallout 4 or Bethesda.

* * *

Holotape Recording - the Year 2062 to 2069

I was just shy of my 6th birthday when my father announced that he had accepted a new position for his job and as a result, we would be moving across the country to live in Boston. Mum wasn't mad; she actually seemed rather excited to be moving. Esther on the other hand; well my sister was less that impressed with the idea that we were supposed to pack up our entire lives up and move to someplace we'd never been. I'd never seem her so upset. Dad hired a crew and the house was packed up in a few days and then we were gone. I remember staring out the back of our car window as we drove away from the house for the final time. I know I cried because I'd lived in that house for my entire life until that point.

As we drove, Mum revealed that she had grown up in the Boston area and that its where Dad was from as well; that explained why she was so happy to be moving. At that moment, I was excited. I loved my mother dearly and wanted to be just like her, so if she was happy about moving then I'd be happy too. We took a plane to Boston, which was equal parts terrifying and awesome.

At the age of almost 6, Boston was a huge change from the quiet little town we'd left behind in California. It smelled different and the people talked funny and it was just so incredibly different. Our new house wasn't nearly as large as the old one, in fact, Esther and I had to share a room. Dad promised that once everything was brought in and unpacked, we'd feel much better about sharing. Esther didn't seem at all happy with that idea and she disappeared the next afternoon for several hours. Within days of moving, all of our stuff was moved in and the Monday that followed, both Esther and I were introduced to our new school. And so, the years passed from then.

When I turned 8, tragedy struck. My dad was sent overseas to consult on a mission for the war that had broken out. The Reds attacked the base where he was stationed. Mum was devastated. She stopped eating and didn't want to get out of bed, so Esther started taking care of her. When the doctor came, he said she was heartsick and that it might heal on its own or it might not. It was even worst when his body came home, and we had to bury him. Esther had to drop out of school and take on a job she never wanted. She became more like Mum at that point than anyone I'd ever seen. She took over everything; the cooking and the cleaning and the other household duties. I helped her out as much as I could, doing all of the chores that I could manage along with going to school and keeping up good grades. Esther was insistent that one of us had to be successful. We lived like that for several years; both of us praying that Mum would get better.

I was 12 when the doctor said that Mum's illness had progressed beyond her heart into her mind. She was very ill and needed constant care, the doctor said but Esther refused. She refused to let Mum slip away like that and insisted to the doctor that the best place for our mum to be was at home where she was loved. It was the 4th anniversary of Dad's death when she decided it was time to join him. It was a Monday morning and Esther had decided to run to the store for something for Mum, so I'm sure Mum knew she was going to be out of the house. I'm pretty sure she thought I'd be gone too since it was Monday, but I was feverish and had stayed home from school. I woke to smoke in my bedroom. I had enough sense to crawl out of the bedroom and I ended up falling down the stairs. It wasn't until I was trying to crawl through the front door that someone entered the house. Our across-the-street neighbor, Mr. Adams, carried me out when he found me in the doorway.

I was in the hospital for several days afterward recovering from smoke inhalation and the flu. When I did finally wake up, I was greeted by a very apologetic nurse and a social worker. They told me that my mum set the fire to commit suicide. My sister ran into the fire to try and save her, she never saw me laying in front of the doorway. They were both dead. I don't think I cried at all. I know I felt numb. There wasn't much of them left over and there was very little left of the house. When I was recovered enough, the social worker took me back to the house and let me collect a few things that were left behind.

There wasn't much in the house that was salvageable to a 12-year-old. I took all of the pictures out of their frames and into a box. Then I went into the backyard and dug up the time capsule tin that Esther and I had hidden when we'd moved in. I could have left it behind, but I was alone now, so I took it with me instead and vowed to rebury it when I finally had a house of my own. I left that house in tears, it was the first time I'd cried since Dad died. For the first time in my life, I was completely alone.

* * *

Yay... Normally I never post multiple chapter... actually its pretty rare that I ever finish more than one chapter at a time. Read and review please.

~ipastaitalia


	3. Holotape - 2069 to 2073

Chapter 3 is here... Yay

Warning: contains mentions of abuse and sexual assault.

Please don't bash these scenarios of being in foster care. These events came out of the court documents that my husband has from his childhood in foster care. Obviously, no identities are being shared. The foster family, Joe and Vera; they were very real and they did pass away like that. They were my husbands foster parents for several years.

Still, don't own Fallout 4 or Bethesda.

* * *

Year 2069 to 2073

After that disaster, I was put into foster care and from there it was a lot of bullshit. My first family was sympathetic about my recent losses and seemed fairly nice. They had two daughters already and I thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I was so wrong. My new foster sisters were vicious. They were only nice to me in front of their parents but when they weren't around, it was horrible. The first time was when the oldest daughter, Maria, cut my hair off when I was sleeping. When I complained to my foster parents, they denied that their daughter could do something like that. And that's how it went. Those girls would do something to me; soak my school uniform shirts in bleach and then let them dry like that and put gum in my hair multiple times but the final straw was when they put cat piss on my bed. I was so mad that I punched Maria so hard I broke her nose. The parents called the agency and I was out by that evening.

That's how it went for the next several months. House after house, family after family. One family treated me like a slave and made me sleep in the garage. I got a check from the agency for that one. I suffered in some of the other houses. In the second to last house, I was sexually assaulted. I ran away from that home twice before the agency decided to remove me from the house.

I was 13 when I ended up on the door step of one Vera and Joe Hernandez. They were older than most of the other foster parents I'd had but they were the nicest people around. They stuck with me. Vera taught me how to make tamales and Joe taught me how to defend myself. He was former Army and we would sit for hours on the porch talking about his time in the service.

Joe always said I'd probably be able to do great things if I tired. Vera would always laugh and gently swat Joe on the shoulder and then tell me that destiny and fate were two thing that were usually inescapable and that they'd guide me wherever it was that I was meant to go. I loved Vera and Joe so much; they loved me and treated me like I was their own child.

All good things must come to an end however, and when I was sixteen, everything I'd become comfortable with ground to a painstaking halt. Vera was due to have a coronary stent implanted and even though she was 86 years old, her doctors insisted that she would be fine. It's a simple procedure and they do this all the time. I was in her room after the procedure and she was laughing and talking with me and the nurses. She said she was going to take a nap and I reassured her that Joe would be there in about a half hour, once he was done with his own doctors' appointment. She never woke up. Joe was heartbroken, and he insisted on staying with his wife alone for a few minutes. When we came back, he was gone too. In the end, the coroners office declared hers a death of natural causes and his death was attributed to a very sudden and fatal heart attack. For the second time in my life, I'd lost a set of parents who cared and loved me.

It was back to the agency at that point and I refused to go. My advisor at school helped me file a motion to become an emancipated minor so that I could live on my own. The people from the agency fought against it but the judge granted me what I'd asked for. In my mind, I'd won the right to protect myself from future heartbreak and I made a promise that that would never happen again. Oh, mercy how wrong I was.

* * *

End of Chapter 3... So far, I'm pleased with how this is working out.


	4. Holotape - 2073 to 2077

Alrighty, so we're onto the final chapter of what I've dubbed "The Holotape Chronicles." I actually had more fun writing this than I have for writing anything in a long while.

Warnings of drug-use and rape.

I still don't own Fallout 4 or Bethesda

* * *

Holotape Recording: 2073 – 2077

Being 16 was supposed to be a celebratory year. Learn to drive, get a boyfriend, and do other somewhat adult stuff that your parents would shake their heads at. If they only knew what it was we'd been doing. My birth parents were long gone by the time I reached 16 but this was also the year that my longest set of foster parents died. To say I was devastated would have been an understatement. I broke. Hard. Sure, I won my case to become an emancipated minor but didn't have the mental wherewithal to be on my own after everything. It felt like the world was moving too fast and I couldn't take it anymore. So, one of my guy friends, Tyler, offered me something to slow everything down and to help me relax. He called it Jet, which was actually an inhalant-type drug. I obliged and that was the worst experience. Not only did everything literally slow down but apparently Tyler thought that was a perfect opportunity to get intimate. I tried to fight back. Fortunately, and unfortunately, the jet made things feel like they were slower, but I also felt a hell of a lot stronger. He was in more trouble when the cops showed up. I was still underage, not matter whether I was emancipated or not and in Boston, that still constitutes as rape.

I spent several hours in the hospital and when I finally got out, I made possibly the most life-changing decision I would ever make. I showed up at the Army recruitment office later that afternoon. I told the officer that I wanted a change. That I wanted something better for my life than being homeless. He laughed at me. So, I walked next door to the Corps office. The officer in charge was a woman and when I explained to her what I wanted, she didn't laugh. This is war kid. You understand that, right? She asked me. I told her yea, I understood. It might sound crazy, but I was off on the next bus out to the boot camp.

13 weeks of physical, mental and emotional trauma where what followed me from that moment and I'm surprised, looking back, that I didn't break. Everything I learned there would help me later in the future even if I didn't know it. Another 12 weeks followed for advanced training and then I went to the field. One great thing about the Corps was that it enabled me to travel and since I was young and single, I did that a lot.

I was on a world tour. My team was a take-out crew. We went into the dangerous areas and took people out. Sometimes we killed people. Actually, we killed a lot of people. We acted on extraction and elimination and we were good at what we did. I was just about to turn 17 when we returned to the States. I was on leave in Boston, having fun exploring the city I had come to call home when I met him.

I met up with a few of my old girlfriends while I was on leave and we decided to spend a night having fun at the Starlight Drive-In theater. So, we went. It was fantastic and amazing and fun, but the best part of the night was when I met him. Nate was 23, and he was in the army. He was tall and dark-haired and oh so handsome. I want to say I fell in love that night but that's not what happened. Or maybe I did love him. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to answer that. What matters is that we hit it off really well. We met up several times and the Christmas after I turned 18, he asked me to marry him.

Marriage was something that society pushed you towards. It was socially expected and for me to have said no; well it wouldn't have looked good. Besides, I didn't want to spend the rest of my life alone. I didn't want to break my heart again and a marriage can definitely do that, but I was also so afraid of being alone, so I said yes. We married in a simple ceremony at the Old State House in Boston's Scollay Square. Neither Nate or I had family that was alive anymore, so our wedding consisted of a bunch of our friends and coworkers and service buddies.

Once the honeymoon was over, something we didn't really have the luxury of, our commanding officers gave us an ultimatum. One of us, preferably me, would be required to move over to a non-combat-based post. After a long arduous discussion, Nate and I decided that it would be optimal for me to take the non-combat position. I wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea of having a desk job, but my Sergeant had other ideas as to what I could do. Instead of assigning me to a desk job, Sergeant Mathias asked how I felt about being an instructor. Training people to be snipers and sharpshooters sounded like something I could do. So, I did.

We settled into married life with relative ease; Nate stayed a soldier and I became an instructor. We bought a house in a small housing development outside of Concord, called Sanctuary Hills. It was nice to finally have something like that after everything I'd been through in my life. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe and happy. Especially when we found out our family was about to expand from two to three.

For all that can be said about pregnancies, mine was fairly easy. I didn't get sick or lose a whole lot of energy. I didn't have a lot of weird cravings unless you count stuffing myself with pineapple chunks smothered in peanut butter. Nate insisted that we get someone or something to help around the house and to help care for the baby when it arrived. That's how we ended up with Codsworth, our Mr. Handy robot. I had some serious, and I mean some super serious reservations about leaving a baby in the care of a robot.

Shaun was born prematurely, by eight weeks to be exact. I'm not sure who was more terrified, Nate or myself. We'd been expecting a normal delivery, not terrifying preterm labor at home and then all the rooms at Kendall Hospital were full. In the end, Shaun was born at 9:47 am on August 12 at Medford Memorial Hospital. Luckily for all of us, Shaun weighted in at just over 5lbs at birth and was able to go home after just eight days in the hospital. We returned home, and everything was good. Halloween was coming up and we were excited to spend that first holiday together as a family.

I should have known when I woke up on October 23 that things weren't going to end well. Nate and I had been invited to a Veterans dinner that night and he was going to be accepting some sort of service award. Shaun had been significantly fussier that morning as well and even the coffee wasn't making me feel better. Then the world went to hell, literally. The morning news broadcast was going on fine until breaking news came across that nuclear bombs had been dropped on New York and Pennsylvania. Maybe it was by grace or maybe it was the inescapable bonds of fate and destiny, but Nate had somehow managed to reserve all three of us space in the vault that had been built in the hills behind Sanctuary. So that's where we went. We watched as the bomb fell near Boston.

I'd heard stories about Vault-Tec and their vaults. I'd heard some pretty good things, but I'd also heard some pretty terrible and horrifying rumors about the company as well. I prayed to whatever God was available that this particular vault wasn't going to be one of the crazy ones. Some Vault-Tec scientist told us that we would be decontaminated and depressurized before we moved deeper into the vault. Maybe it was instant or intuition, but I knew he wasn't telling us the truth, but I couldn't turn around a leave now. There wasn't a world above me to return to, so I kissed Shaun and hugged both him and Nate. I made sure to tell them I loved them. My suspicions were confirmed when I stepped into the pod thing that I'd been assigned.

Looking back now, I don't know if I'd change anything at all. Maybe there are some things. Like maybe I'd go back and save every Nuka-cola cap I could find. In the end, I realized one thing as my mind faded to blank thanks to the stupid Vault-Tec people and their stupid cryogenic pod. Time and place don't matter because it's always war, and war never changes.

* * *

I'm really relieved to be done with these few chapters. I don't really have a schedule for updating but I'm going to give myself a week and see what happens, especially since its summer vacation and my oldest is out of school for the next two months and there's a holiday this week. I've got so many ideas for this story and I've already determined the future romance pair too. Heres hoping that my muse doesn't run away from me now.


	5. CH 5 - What We Awaken To

**Authors Note:**

 **YAY! Finally onto the main body of the story. Almost entirely based on a dream I had, a series of conversations with my sister, some random Pinterest pins, and a bunch of "well if I owned Bethesda, I'd do…". So far, this story has been relatively easy to write, so I'm really hoping that it stays like that.**

* * *

The first time it happened, she'd awakened to a metallic female voice echoing through her head. Sofia couldn't feel anything other than a bone-deep freezing cold and a raging headache as she struggled against whatever force had control over her brain and muscles. Opening her eyes a crack, she saw an unfamiliar pair of people standing in front of the pod in front of hers. One of the people was in a white hazmat suit and was messing with the controls to open the pod. Then in a moment, the pod was open. Shaun was crying, and Nate was gasping for air.

" _Is it over? Are we safe?"_ He asked as Shaun wailed like the day he'd been born.

" _Give us the baby."_ Snapped the one in the hazmat suit, clearly a woman by the sounds of the voice.

" _I'm not giving you Shaun."_ Cried Nate as he pulled Shaun back from the deranged woman.

" _Give us the kid before you get hurt."_ Growled the man who had been standing to the side the entire time.

" _No, you maniac."_ Shouted Nate as he tried to lunge forward towards the man while holding Shaun.

Sofia had seen too many scenes like this. Hell, she'd been in that guys shoes a few times. And scenes like this ended two ways; either you obtain what you want diplomatically, and everyone survives, or you obtain what you want via violence and physical force, but someone doesn't survive in the end. In the blink of an eye, the man had raised a pistol and fired a shot, effectively silencing Nate by killing him. The woman in the hazmat suit snatched Shaun from Nate's arms.

" _Killing him wasn't on the contract."_ Snapped the woman as she clutched Shaun to her.

" _Defending the mission was. At least we still have the backup."_ The man growled as he looked into Sofia's pod, where she was glaring at him.

The pair walked off as Sofia was left staring across the row into Nate's now closed again pod and his now dead body. Somewhere in her heavily clouded brain, she knew she should be screaming in rage, but her body felt so heavy and it was getting colder which forced her back into that miserable cryogenic sleep.

The second time it happened, she heard the metallic woman's voice again. Somewhere around her or above her, she could hear an alarm blaring. She was still freezing cold, but the sudden lack of oxygen forced her brain into a fight-for-its-life frenzy. Banging on the pod door, Sofia pushed with all of her strength and by some small miracle the pod door swung open allowing her a means to escape. Unfortunately, having been sitting for such an extend period of time; Sofia had near no strength in her legs. Instead of walking, Sofia lurched forward and crashed to the floor. Chest heaving, she laid on the floor for a moment trying to get her bearings together.

The air was stale, and dust was filling her nose as she breathed in, cheek pressed against the cold stone ground. The alarm was still blaring and for the first time since she'd exited her pod, she realized that none of the other pods were opening. Immediately, her military brain took over and she pushed herself up off of the ground. Staggering forward, she slammed against the pod before her and horror crossed her heart as she caught sight of what was inside. It was Nate's pod. Breathing heavily, she fumbled with the mechanisms to open the door. The pod creaked open and Sofia wasted no time lugging Nate out of the pod onto the floor. There was a glaring bloody bullet wound in his head but Sofia ran a methodical though slightly frantic medic check. No pulse. Balling her fists in his jumpsuit, she screamed. As a soldier, she'd understood the kill or be killed mentality. Both she and Nate had been forced to kill people as part of their jobs. They had always understood the fact that one of them might not come home; and after they got married, they both understood that it was specifically Nate who might not come home. She'd understood but she never thought it would ever happen. The war had ended, there weren't supposed to be any bombs. Yet there were, and now here they were in the dark of a vault underground. For the third time in her short life, Sofia had lost someone that she loved.

Taking in a ragged breath to try and calm her sobs, Sofia took another look around her. None of the other pods were open which confirmed her fear that she was the sole survivor or at least that's what she could confirm just on visuals. A few more breaths and Sofia was pretty sure that she was in some sort of shock as she stared down at her dead husband. Yet, the Corp motto echoed in her head loud and clear. Never leave a brother behind, she mumbled as she draped Nate's arm over her shoulder. I promise babe, we're going to get out of here together, she whispered to him.

Nate was much heavier than she remembered but she didn't falter or complain as she trudged towards the end of the room, kicking the door in order to open it. The next corridor was deserted as well, as was every other room that they moved through. On one of the tables had a security baton laying on it so Sofia grabbed it. Moving into the next corridor, they came across what she could only describe as giant cockroaches. After another few rooms, they reached what must have been the Overseers office. On the desk was a 10 mm pistol and a box of ammo. Quickly scanning the room to determine how safe they were, Sofia then found a safe place to lay Nate's body. Luckily there was a bed in the attached sleeping quarters, so she left him there. Moving back out to the office area, she checked the pistol to make sure it was functional and fully loaded. The terminal unlocked the door and Sofia made a quick decision to scout the rest of the vault and hopefully find the exit before coming back for Nate.

In the next corridor, there was even more giant cockroaches. She made quick work of them with the pistol, though she felt a bit rusty. Luckily, the exit was through the next hallway. Sofia decided it would be wise to open the vault completely before she went back for Nate. Laying on the ground next to access panel was a retro pip boy and Sofia could have laughed at the nostalgia of it. She'd had one back during her time in the Corps. Picking the device up off of the ground, she attached it to her arm and turned it on. Once it was active, she plugged in the cord and slammed the button down that would open the vault. As the sequence started to open the vault door, Sofia jogged back the Overseer's office and approached the bed where Nate lay. Gently, she pulled him up with his arm over her shoulder and holding up his body the best she could she staggered back to where the vault was already open. As she and Nate stood on the platform to return to the surface, she was slightly afraid of what awaited her.

-0-0-0-0-0-

As the platform made contact with the surface, Sofia couldn't help but gasp. Everything was brown and desolate and dead. Just beyond the rocks of the cliff, she could see the roofs of some of the houses from Sanctuary Hills. Groaning a little bit as the platform lurched a little bit before coming to a complete stop, Sofia decided to head down to their old house. The dirt was more like dust under her boots and the pip-boy began beeping loudly when they crossed the bridge over the little creek. Still Sofia kept on. Her muscles were really starting to ache and as she rounded onto the sidewalk of their street, her stomach growled loudly. Heaving a breath, Sofia resituated Nate on her shoulder but something glinting in the sunlight ahead caught her attention. Their Mr. Handy robot was still working. Codsworth was dutifully trimming the geranium hedges in front of their old house.

" _Codsworth?"_ Sofia asked as she approached the house.

Sure enough, one of his sensors caught sight of her and he stopped immediately what he was doing and flew over to them.

" _As I live and breathe… It's you! It's really you!"_ he cried in delight as Sofia felt more tears starting to push their way forward.

" _Yea Codsworth, it's really me. I need your help."_ Sofia whispered as she wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand.

" _What wrong with Sir?"_ Codsworth asked as Sofia's legs finally gave out and she crumpled under the weight of Nate's body.

" _He's dead, Codsworth. They killed him in the vault and they kidnapped Shaun. Can you take him home for me?"_ Sofia whispered as she looked up at the robot.

Codsworth wasted little time in hefting Nate up and taking him towards the house. When Sofia finally made it, Codsworth had laid Nate on the sofa. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought that he'd been just sleeping and not dead like he really was. She had perched herself on the kitchen table and was staring blankly at the floor until her stomach growled again causing her to groan.

" _Ah. You sound like you're hungry. Seems like you're 200 years late for dinner Mum."_ Codsworth stated as Sofia nearly fell off the table.

" _200 years?"_ she cried as Codsworth continued making food for her.

" _A bit more like 210 really, give or take some changes in the earth rotation and a few dings to the old chronometer. Here you are mum, Salisbury steak, and purified water."_ Codsworth stated as he set the food next to her on the table.

" _210 years on ice. Wonderful. Are there any other people alive?"_ Sofia asked as she slowly at the food before chugging back the water.

" _Should be some in Concord, mum. They only beat me with sticks the last time I ventured that far."_ Codsworth replied as Sofia nodded.

" _Well, I'm going to travel to Concord. See if there's anyone there."_ She stated resolutely as she hopped off the table and wandered down the hall to her old bedroom.

Everything was pretty demolished at this point; the mattress was missing, and the bed was broken. Most of the other furniture was broken as well but Sofia wasn't too terribly concerned with that as she knelt down on the floor put pressure on one of the floorboards. Sure enough, a panel popped up and underneath was a safe. Starring at that safe brought back some painful memories. Nate had been something of an end-of-the-world prepper, especially having been in the military. Rumors were always flying around and Nate had made this cache as soon as they'd moved into the house. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the end of the world he'd been concerned about but rather if the Reds had attacked America.

In the safe were several weapons and several boxes of ammo. Of the contents of the safe, Sofia opted to take the combat shotgun, a .45 caliber pistol and her own personal .308 caliber long range night vision scoped rifle. She checked each one over, making sure they were still in good working order. Her vault suit was going to be a dead give way because of the color but she didn't have the time to really find something else. Grabbing one of the rucksacks out of the safe, Sofia loaded up enough ammo to last her a while and with that she stood up off of the floor and closed the safe panel up with her foot. Slinging the rifle across her back, Sofia stood totally upright and walked back out to the living room.

" _We need to bury Nate,"_ Sofia whispered as she stood at the foot of the sofa, running her fingers over Nate's forehead.

" _Shall I dig a grave mum?"_ Codsworth asked as Sofia starred at her hands.

" _Yea. And a coffin if you can. We'll bury him as soon as I get back."_ She replied as she started for the front door.

The sun wasn't quite overhead as she walked across the bridge that connected Sanctuary Hills with the rest of the world. Just beyond the rise in the road, she could see the tower of the Red Rocket Truck Stop. She and Nate had spent so many nights hanging out at the truck stop, eating donuts at like one o'clock in the morning. Pacing around the outside of the desolate truck stop was a dog, a German Shepard by the looks of it. Even so, Sofia knew better than automatically assume that it was a friendly. However, she'd only made it to the edge of the property before the dog was bouncing and jumping around her.

" _Oh, you poor thing. Where's your owner?"_ Sofia asked as she lowered a hand for the dog to sniff.

" _Do you even have an owner?"_ she mused out loud as the dog barked at her before running off down the road, only to double back to see if she was following.

" _Oh. Alright, alright. I'm going. I'll follow you but you gotta keep quiet. You're gonna get us caught."_ Sofia stated as she scratched the dog behind the ears.

Sofia was surprised when the dog kept relatively silent. He growled of course but it was always just loud enough for her to hear. As they entered Concord, shooting could be heard so Sofia decided to wander around to the backside of the fighting, or what she hoped would be the back of the fighting. So they crept around and sure enough, there were a bunch of people in what looked like leather armor shooting at something near the top of the Museum of Freedom building. Hunkering down behind a car, Sofia looked through her scope and saw that there was indeed a man standing on the balcony near the museum's roof. Five or six against one didn't seem very fair so Sofia readied a clip and took aim before firing and dropping one guy.

" _We're being fuckin shot at from back there too!"_ cried a voice.

" _Nah. You're just high on chems. Aint nobody behind us."_ Shouted another as Sofia readied another shot.

In the time it took the bandits to react, Sofia had fired two more shots effectively eliminating two more people. The man on the balcony fired a red beam and a third bandit dropped to the ground. Now there was only two left and Sofia could only get a good shot on one of them, so she fired and brought him down. Now there was only one left and he was advancing on her position. Sofia sneered as she laid the rifle down next to her and readied the shotgun. The guy was standing near over her now and she took that as the opportunity to jump up and blast him in the face with two rounds from the shotgun. It was fairly effective but since she caught him right in the face, she blew a majority of his face up.

" _Hey, you! We need help! Grab that laser musket down there if you need it."_ He shouted down to her and Sofia raised an eyebrow as she walked towards the museum.

She'd been here once or twice before, when she was a kid and it had been bright and colorful back then. Now, like everything else, it had fallen into disrepair. Pushing the door open, she heard the distinctive popping noise of gunfire. Instead of using the rifle, Sofia dug the .45 out of her bag and snuck around the corner. It took a little bit of maneuvering and quite a bit of swearing to kill all of the bandits. When she finally made it to the top office area of the building, she was surprised to see such a ragtag group of people. The guy who had been standing on the balcony greeted her.

" _Thanks for your help. Here are some caps for all the trouble."_ He stated as he handed her a fabric bag filled with Nuka-cola caps.

" _You're welcome. Are you guys alright?"_ Sofia asked as she slipped the bag into her rucksack.

" _We are now that you've killed off those raiders that were trying to kill us."_ Interjected another man with dark brown hair who was wearing overalls.

" _Agreed. Names Preston Garvey of the Minutemen."_ The man in the trench coat stated as Sofia nodded.

He pointed out the other people in the room; the guy in the overalls was named Sturges, there was a younger married couple named Jun and Marcy Long, and an older woman named Mama Murphy. Preston explained that they were the last remnants of a group that had come up from Quincy. Apparently one of Preston's fellow Minutemen had betrayed them to a group of mercenaries called the Gunners. From the sounds of it, what happened in Quincy had been a complete bloodbath and these 5 people were incredibly lucky.

" _Yesterday there was eight of us, today we're down to five."_ Preston said morosely as Sofia shook her head.

" _Well, I'll help you out in any way I can."_ Sofia said as Preston and Sturges exchanged a look.

Instead of telling her, Sturges motioned for her to follow him as he walked out of the room. Sofia dutifully followed him until they were standing in what must have been the basement of the museum in front of an old security terminal and an equally old security gate, behind which was a fusion core generator.

" _There's an old power armor set up on the roof, but we need that core before we can use the suit."_ Sturges said as Sofia raised an eyebrow.

Moving to the terminal, Sofia brought up the unlock bypass screen. How such an old terminal was still working was beyond her but that meant that the hacking bypass system hadn't changed. Selecting the first word gave her a value of zero, which didn't help. So she moved to another word and got a value of two. Since all of the possible choices only had a possible value of four, she deduced that this must be a lower level terminal. Third times the charm, she whispered as she clicked on her third word choice. Sturges seemed surprised when the door unlock screen came up and Sofia unlocked the door.

" _That was some pretty smooth hacking there."_ Said, Sturges, as Sofia ejected the fusion core before turning to him.

" _Jack of all trades, master of very few."_ Sofia said lightly as they walked back upstairs.

By the time, they got up and outside, the sun was lower on the horizon. It wasn't dark yet, but it was getting later, and Sofia was hoping that they could get moving soon. From her new vantage point on the roof, Sofia had a great opportunity to snipe some of the raiders below. Which she did, until something burst from the ground at the far end of the street. Through her scope, she could see the monstrous looking creature. Tearing her gaze away from the monster, she looked back at the near ancient T-45 power armor suit that was sitting behind her and the minigun that was mounted on the vertibird.

Even though she had been in the Corps, she had never had the opportunity to use the power armor suits. Nate, on the other hand, having been a foot soldier for the Army had used them on more than one occasion and he had given her some pointers in case she ever found herself having to use on. Focusing on his soothing reminders, Sofia inserted the fusion core and stepped into the formidable looking suit of armor. Once she was securely inside, she found that it was rather interesting. She could move fairly smoothly so she walked up to the vertibird and lifted up the minigun with minimal effort. She'd never been much of a daredevil but as she stood on the edge of the building, she felt a sudden rush of exhilaration. Dropping off the roof, she came face to face with the monstrosity that had come roaring out of the ground. The monster was nearly 7 feet tall and had claws that were nearly a foot all on their own. Terror struck through her as the thing lunged for her and she fired the minigun, firing a hail of bullets into the creature. Smoke and dust and blood filled the air when she was done, and the creature lay in a heap on the ground.

Exhaustion was the first thing she felt as she stared down at the creature before her; if this is what this new world had in store for her, then she was pretty sure she was going to need better guns. Turning away, Sofia trudged back into the museum. Preston and his little group of survivors were sitting around a lantern on the first floor when she entered. They seemed to be arguing as she approached, about where they should go from here. The woman, Marcy, seemed angry.

" _Well, it's all clear out there."_ Sofia said as she approached Preston.

" _Thank goodness for that. You've done so much for us."_ Preston stated as Sofia smiled.

" _Alright, you guys lets head on out to that place Mama Murphy saw."_ He added as Sofia raised an eyebrow.

" _Yea someplace she saw while she was stoned out of her mind."_ Snarked Marcy and Sofia was now super confused.

" _Alright Marcy, if you've got a better suggestion than heading for this Sanctuary place you should say something now."_ Sturges said and Marcy glared at him.

" _Sanctuary? As in Sanctuary Hills? It's just up the road or so about a mile. There's nothing to bother you between here and there."_ Sofia said as she began heading for the door.

The group followed her out and Sofia returned to the power armor so that she could take it back to the house. She stayed a bit ahead of the group until they reached the Red Rocket Truck Stop. Preston had been watching her and he was very confused about the mystery woman. She was cleaner than most people who came from the wasteland and on top of that, she'd been wearing a vault suit. Vault dwellers were fairly uncommon, and he looked like she was fresh out of whatever vault she'd come from. He wanted to ask her about. Sofia led them to a yellow house with a workbench. Sofia left the power armor on the power station before approaching Preston and the others.

" _This is Sanctuary Hills. A few of the houses have fallen apart but there are quite a few that are still standing. Don't mind the Mr. Handy. His name is Codsworth and I'm sure he'll the enjoy human company."_ Sofia stated as she turned to look at Preston.

" _I'd really like to help you guys set up but I've got something else that's really important to take care of first."_ She added as Marcy laughed.

" _Turns out you're not as helpful as you seem, huh? What could you possibly have to do that more important than helping us?"_ Marcy demanded as she glared at Sofia who was looking a little bit more than shocked.

" _You should consider yourself lucky you have your husband still with you."_ Sofia stated as she started to walk away.

" _What's that supposed to mean!"_ cried Marcy indignantly as Jun tried to calm her down but she turned away.

" _At least your husband is still alive, Marcy. I've got to bury mine."_ Sofia snapped as she fought back the tears before practically running into the house across the street.

" _Great Marcy. Can you be any more selfish?"_ demanded Sturges as he turned on the woman before following Sofia.

There was absolute silence as Marcy stormed off into the house they were standing near. Jun followed his wife into the house in an attempt to calm her down.

Sofia wanted to be angry with Marcy, but she couldn't. It was already proving to be more difficult in this post-atom bomb world and while it really wasn't right for the other woman to act like she had, Sofia reasoned that she had a reason for being like that. Glancing out the back wall, Sofia could see that Codsworth had dug a fairly deep grave.

" _You weren't kidding."_ Whispered a voice and Sofia jumped as she turned to face Sturges.

" _Yea. At least he came home first."_ Sofia said softly as she ran her fingers across Nate's forehead, avoiding the bullet wound.

" _I thought the vaults were supposed to be safe places to live. Why would someone shoot him like that?"_ Sturges said as Sofia raised an eyebrow.

" _Our vault was nothing more than a social experiment; Vault-Tec's way of testing the effects of long-term cryogenic stasis on unsuspecting people. I was frozen for 210 years. Everything is so new to me, this is a very different world from the one I left behind."_ Sofia said as she wandered around the living room.

" _This was my house, actually. I lived here before the war."_ She added as she came full circle to stand at the end of the sofa where Nate's head was.

" _That's pretty amazing. Like one of those pre-war ghouls, huh? Do you need any help with this?"_ Sturges asked as he felt Preston walk up behind him.

There was silence as Isabel stood kind of awkwardly. She didn't know these people but here they were, offering assistance to someone they hardly knew. Maybe it wasn't too far-fetched, she had aided them at the museum so maybe this was a sort of exchange like that. Maybe this word, as damaged and destroyed as it was now, could have some little rays of sunshine.

" _Sure. I think Nate would like that."_ Sofia stated as she smiled at the two men.

Another several hours later, Sturges had managed to put together a decent looking burial box and it took both men to settle Nate's body into it. Sofia had managed to make a headstone out of metal as well. Then finally, they were ready. Codsworth had used one of his attachments to solder the lid to the box and both Preston and Sturges lowered the box into the ground. Somehow, Codsworth had managed to play Taps for them and Mama Murphy stood next to Sofia as Preston gave some kind words, even though he'd never actually known the man they were burying. In all, it was a rather nice funeral in a world where everything they'd ever known had been destroyed. After the dirt had been placed back over the coffin, Sofia sank to her knees and tried not to cry. Of all the things that she had theorized when they went into the vault, Sofia had never imagined that she'd be frozen for two centuries. She'd never even conjured up the possibility of having her child stolen from her and her husband being murdered. She'd never imagined that she'd be left totally alone.

* * *

 **I'm pretty sure that this is the longest chapter I've ever written for any story ever. Most of this story is based on a dream that I had and for the most part since I'm still actively playing Fallout 4; I'm sure that this story will be actively updated. Sundays are my projected update days. Hopefully, this wasn't too dry or boring. Please let me know if It was and how I can liven it up a little.**

 **Please Review**

 **~ipastaitalia**


	6. CH 6 - The Start of Something

**So this chapter is coming out way later than I intended. My wonderful, loveable almost three-year-old daughter stepped on my laptop and cracked my touchscreen, so it has been in the shop for what seems like ages getting fixed. I wrote a majority of this chapter on my phone but for whatever reason, I was unable to upload the chapter from there.**

 **I'd like to thanks _Sonseeahray_ for being the first to review. I know that Fallout fanfictions might not be the most popular but I'm really grateful that people are reading and reviewing.**

 **I don't own Fallout 4. Those rights go to Bethesda Softworks. I'm just glad I can play in the sandbox in which they've created.**

* * *

Having always been an early riser, Sofia was awake with the sun the next morning. Being the only one awake gave her a moment to reflect on the previous day. In short, it was terrifying, and any normal person would probably have cracked under the stress that she'd been exposed to. However, Sofia wasn't a normal person. She'd been hurt and injured and traumatized so many times in her short life that this didn't feel like anything new and yet it was. Her only child had been kidnapped and her husband had been murdered right in front of her. She was angry but not enough so that she would do anything irrationally. The Corps had taught her that anger was best used when it could be directed into something else, generally something productive or something like finishing a mission. Now she had a mission. Somehow, someway she had to figure out who was responsible for Nate's death and for Shaun's kidnapping. She wanted to know why? It was going to have to wait, however. Sofia didn't like the idea of not having a home base to come back too. That was a task that was going to have to take precedence. Besides, unless she built Sanctuary back up there would be no place to bring Shaun home too. With the idea settled into her brain, she slung the rifle across her back and jumped from her perch on the roof. Landing on the ground, she noticed that the others were beginning to stir in the house across the street. Returning to her house, Sofia paused at the hallway.

" _Hey Codsworth, can I ask you a favor?"_ Sofia asked as she leaned against the wall.

" _Of course Mum."_ Replied the Mr. Handy as Sofia gave a soft smile.

" _Can you help the new people that are here?"_ She asked softly.

" _I mean, I know you're supposed to by my Mr. Handy and all but I'm eventually going to have to leave here if I want to find Shaun. These people need help. So can you help them? Take care of them? If you want too that is."_ She added as the robots' multiple sensors focused on her for several moments.

" _Of course I will, Mum."_ Codsworth replied and Sofia was sure that if he actually had a face that he'd be smiling.

" _Thank you, Codsworth."_ Sofia whispered again before heading down the hall to her room.

Like the day before, Sofia opened up the safe that was under the bedroom floor but this time she set about emptying the safe. She was immensely glad that Nate, in all of his quirkiness, had stocked this safe with everything that they'd need for the end of the world. Packets of MRE's, boxes of ammo, a few other weapons, and a bunch of other survival supplies. She was in the process of organizing everything when she noticed Sturges standing in the doorway of the room.

" _Oh. Good morning."_ Sofia greeted as she stood up amongst the mess.

" _Whoa. Its like you've got a small armory hidden in here."_ Sturges stated as he surveyed the mass of stuff on the floor.

" _Yea. Nate was the kind of person to be overly prepared for everything. I'm sure glad this is still here, though."_ Sofia replied as she ran her fingers through her hair.

" _All of its pre-war though, so its likely that none of this stuff exists anymore. Except for the guns and ammo."_ She added with a laugh as Sturges nodded.

" _Well, I came to see if you wanted to give me a hand tearing down some of the old houses and stuff."_ He replied as Sofia nodded.

" _Sure. Just let me finish organizing all of this crap first."_ She stated as she bent down and gathered up an armful of the MRE packages.

" _Want a hand?"_ Sturges asked as Sofia flashed him a brilliant smile.

" _Sure. The sooner we get this stuff organized, then the sooner we can start tearing down those fallen houses."_ She replied as she deposited what she had into Sturges' arms.

Gathering up another bunch of MRE packages up in her arm, Sofia stepped over the mass of stuff on the floor. As she passed by Sturges in the doorway, their arms brushed against each other and Sturges felt his heart start to race. Turning to follow the blonde woman down the hall, he noticed that the vault suit she was wearing was almost entirely too skin tight. He also noticed that her hips swayed when she walked. Shaking his head, he mentally scolded himself. He'd barely known this woman for a day and already he was thinking crazy things about her.

" _You coming, Sturges."_ Sofia called as she paused in the hallway.

She turned to look over her shoulder just as Sturges felt like he was going to choke on the air he was breathing. Raising an eyebrow, Sofia just shrugged. For only being 20 years old, she was fairly perceptive. As she deposited the MRE's on the counter next to the broken fridge, she figured the Sturges had been watching her walk away and that he probably found her somewhat attractive. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time that a guy had reacted like that to her. She was sorting the pile into meal category piles when Sturges deposited his armful onto the counter.

" _Sorry."_ He mumbled, and Sofia giggled.

" _You're fine."_ Sofia replied as she added his pile to hers.

" _Come on, we've got so much more to do."_ She added as she turned away from the pile and looked up at him with a smile.

That was how their morning progressed. Sturges helping Sofia sort through all of the stuff that she had. When the sun was high in the sky, Sofia checked the time on the pip-boy only to discover that it was just past noon.

" _Hey, Codsworth! What's for lunch?"_ Sofia asked as she turned to the robot who had floated in from

" _Ah, good afternoon Mum. I'll have lunch ready in just a jiffy."_ Codsworth replied and Sofia beamed at the robot.

" _Alright."_ Sofia turned and retreated back down the hallway to her room leaving Sturges behind in the kitchen.

Heaving a sigh, Sturges watched her walk back down the hallway and disappeared through the door to her room. She was pretty, he had to give her that but there was no way a girl like that would be interested in a guy like him.

Sofia really wished there were fewer holes in her room than there currently were because she was just so flustered, even if she was really good at hiding it. Part of her was slightly ashamed as well; Nate had been buried for just around a day and she was already feeling weird things for other men. Some grieving wife she was. And that was the sad part about all of this; while Sofia cared for Nate and had loved him to some extent, she didn't feel nearly as broken up about his death as she thought she should have. Maybe that was all due to her time in the Corps. Maybe she was so desensitized to death that this wasn't affecting her like it would a normal person. Or maybe it was the fact that she'd lost so many people that she'd loved and cared for that Nate's death was the latest in a long list of people she'd lost. Either way, she certainly wasn't reacting to his death like a normal person would have. Instead, she was getting flustered over a handsome guy that she didn't really even know.

Lunch passed with little incident although Marcy refused to eat with everyone else. Sofia spent the time they had getting to know her new friends. She learned more about Quincy and what had happened there, and Preston was more than thrilled to tell her all about the Minutemen. In return for their stories, Sofia agreed to regale them with some stories of her own at dinner time since there was only so much time in the day. After lunch, Preston went back to patrolling the area while Sofia and Sturges headed to one of the collapsed houses on the cul-de-sac.

If Sofia remembered correctly, the house that they were standing in had once belonged to a couple with the last name of Callahan. Just by peering through the windows, it was pretty obvious that the shell of the house was made almost entirely out of steel. After surveying around the outside, they decided to take down the outer paneling first before attempting to dismantling the inside parts. They worked on pulling the frame apart until the sky was fairly dark and Codsworth floated over to let them know that dinner was ready.

" _Well, I'd say my first real day in the wasteland was a success."_ Sofia stated as she raised her arms above her head to stretch and felt her back pop.

" _I think you did great. We got a lot done. If we start early tomorrow, then I'm sure we'll have the whole thing torn down by lunch."_ Sturges replied as he looked over at Sofia.

Dinner was a pretty nice affair. Codsworth hand managed to make a stew of sorts and Sofia was entirely too happy to sit down and eat something made by the robot. Sometime during the day, Jun had gathered some more chairs from some of the other houses and placed them around the table in Sofia's house. The food was good though dinner was pretty silent for the most part until Preston looked at Sofia.

" _So 210 years in a vault. Bet that was a wake-up call."_ Preston stated as Sofia nodded through her mouth full of food.

" _Oh, yea. I remember the day the bombs fell pretty clearly really. October 23, 2077. Nate and I were supposed to attend a veterans benefit dinner that night but our morning was fairly normal. Shaun was only three months old and we were going to take him to the park that afternoon. Everyone was preparing for Halloween."_ Sofia stated as she leaned back in her chair.

" _It never worked out though. They had an emergency broadcast about the bombs being dropped on New York and Pennsylvania. Nate grabbed Shaun and we ran for the vault as fast as we could. Only a small handful of people had managed to get a spot in the vault anyway, but we were on the platform when the bomb fell on Boston. One of the worst moments of my life."_ She added as she starred at the ceiling before heaving a sigh.

" _You said your son was kidnapped. The Commonwealth is pretty formidable. How are you gonna find your son in all of that?"_ asked Preston as Sofia closed her eyes and shrugged.

" _In the old days, you'd report something like that to the police and sometimes you'd have to come up with ransom money or something. I figured I'd head for the largest town around and ask around for someone who could help. But I'll be here for a while. If caps are the currency, then I'm probably gonna need a lot more than what I've got."_ She replied as she looked towards Preston.

" _Besides all of that, what good is looking for my son if there's no home to bring him back too? I'm gonna stay and help you guys get Sanctuary set up first before I wander off into the unknown. Plus, you seem like someone who would be an ally, and I'm gonna bet that those are hard to come by in this day and age."_ She added as she shrugged again.

" _Well, the Minutemen would make a great ally for anything. If you want to help out building them back up that is."_ Preston stated as Sofia nodded.

When everyone had had their fill of the food, Codsworth began his routine of cleaning up. Preston led the others back over to the other house and Sofia sank onto the sofa. Until she had a decent bed to sleep on, she was stuck sleeping on the couch. Not that she minded because it had to be marginally better than sleeping on the floor.

The next few days progressed much like the first day had and before Sofia even realized it, an entire month had passed since she'd exited the vault. They'd done a lot of work in Sanctuary; tearing down the destroyed houses. They used the remaining steel to fix up the two main houses that they were using as their residences. They converted one of the houses into a storage area, having furnished the main room of the house with shelves and bins in order to sort all of the different types of building materials. Between Sturges and Sofia, Sanctuary now had all sorts of amenities and some of the best defenses in the commonwealth. Sturges had a way with machines that Sofia didn't quite understand but with the materials they'd found, he'd managed to make a few turrets to guard the area.

Sofia had also spent the last month helping Preston rebuild the Minutemen. They'd been sought out by the settlers at Ten Pines Bluff for help and once Sofia had eliminated the score of raiders at the old Corvega Assembly Plant, the settlers were more than happy to join the Minutemen as a settlement. They'd also set up a radio beacon at the Sunshine Tidings Co-op in the hopes of attracting other settlers to a new permanent settlement. Things were taking a turn for the better and Sofia was excited. Soon, she'd have enough supplies and caps to really fare a trip to Diamond City. Things around Sanctuary got progressively better as well. They had water filtration systems set up on the river to provide clean purified water. They'd gotten some tato plants from the settlers of Ten Pines Bluff and now they had a flourishing tato farm growing. While Marcie still acted cold towards Sofia, Sofia had to admit that the woman seemed to have a way with plants. Jun had taken up helping Preston run the defenses, which often left Sofia and Sturges to their own devices.

Like most nights, Sofia was wandering around the neighborhood before dinner. She hadn't known many of the neighbors that well so there were very few houses that she could associate with real people. On this night, however, she was poking around the house two doors down to the left when she discovered a somewhat hidden cellar door. Pulling a bobby pin from her hair, she set to work trying to pick the lock on the door. Pausing before she opened the door, she flagged down Sturges who was walking around the neighborhood as well.

" _Check this out."_ She called as he stepped around the bushes that concealed the door.

" _Well isn't that interesting. Ya gonna open it?"_ he asked as Sofia smirked.

" _Of course."_ She said as she pulled the cellar doors open and hopped down the ladder.

" _Pretty brilliant trying to turn a root cellar into a bomb shelter."_ She added as she stood in the somewhat small room.

" _They've got all kinds of stuff down here."_ Sturges added as he stood behind her.

" _Perfect place to hide out. Could be kind of cozy if it had more work done to it."_ Sofia whispered as she turned to look at Sturges.

While she'd experienced some terrible things, Sofia wasn't afraid to go and get what she wanted. As she looked over her shoulder, she realized that what she wanted was standing right behind her. Turning fully, Sofia gave Sturges a wicked smirk before moving forward and pressing her lips to his. He was frozen for a moment before he responded to the kiss with just as much heat as she had. Her hands reached up until his hair, pulling them closer together. His hands found her hips and Sofia groaned as she moved against him.

" _Well isn't this interesting?"_ Sturges whispered as he broke the kiss.

" _Just interesting?"_ Sofia asked as she looked up at him.

Sturges didn't respond, his eyes were locked on her own; seemingly searching for something. Finally, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

" _I'll be honest. You're the first girl that's ever made a move like that. Life in the Commonwealth doesn't promote romance and intimacy, so it's not a very common thing that's tried."_ He mumbled as Sofia frowned.

" _Well, love can be a dangerous thing. The only way it'll work though is if you try."_ She responded.

" _Though sex doesn't have to equal love."_ She added quietly as her fingers gently moved through his hair.

" _Why me?"_ he asked and Sofia wondered just what sort of women the wasteland had.

" _Why not? I happen to like you quite a bit for only having known you for a month. Besides, you're pretty good looking too."_ She added as Sturges opened his eyes to look at her again.

She didn't leave the idea unsupported as she quickly leaned up and kissed him again, moving her body flush against his as she did so. She could feel everything through the thin layer of the vault suit and she could tell that he was enjoying it. Quickly, she spun them around and gently pushed Sturges backward until his legs met the bed and he fell onto it. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she pressed him back until he was laying on his back and she was straddling him. If he'd never had a girl before, Sofia was entirely prepared to show him what he'd been missing.

Deftly, she traced her fingers down from his shoulders following his overall straps. Below her, she could feel his groin getting harder and harder as she traced the straps up and down. Then she leaned down and pressed a kiss to his upper jaw.

Though she was straddling him, Sturges' hands were free to wander as well and whatever this feeling was that he was feeling, it was pushing him to get bare skin contact. So he reached up and pulled at the zipper to her vault suit top. Sofia tried to suppress the shiver as the zipper moved lower, revealing her bare skin to the cool outer air. Sturges leaned up and kissed the bare untouched skin of her collarbone.

In that single brief moment, there was nothing in the world except for just the two of them. Everything was perfect until muffled shouting floating through the cellar door. Their ministrations were paused as they listened.

" _Sounds like Preston."_ Sturges mumbled as Sofia closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his shoulder.

" _Isn't it always Preston?"_ she asked as she extricated herself from his lap.

One last gentle kiss was exchanged before Sturges headed up the ladder to see what Preston wanted. Sofia took her time putting herself back together. A teeny tiny part of her was furious with Preston for interrupting them but the rest of her brain was glad. She was still newly widowed, sort of, and she felt sort of guilty for moving on from Nate's death so quickly. On top of that, she really liked Sturges. There was a sort of attraction there that she hasn't experienced since she and Nate had gotten together.

Making sure she was totally put together, she climbed out of the cellar as well. It was nearing midnight, according to the pip-boy on her wrist. A concerned whine alerted her to Dogmeat who was now sitting by her side.

" _Ready to go boy?"_ Sofia asked softly as she rubbed her fingers along the back of his ears, to which she received a soft growl.

" _We'll leave in the morning, then."_ She added as she started walking back towards her house.

She didn't see either Sturges or Preston on her way back over to her house. Codsworth wasn't moving around the kitchen when she returned, rather he was in rest mode in the old laundry room. Watching him quietly hover in the corner, she wondered whether or not he'd done this at all in the last two centuries.

Moving further down the hall, she stopped at the doorway to Shaun's room. His crib was in one piece still and Sofia wiped away a tear as she ran her fingers over the blue crib railing. She could remember the first time she'd laid her baby down in this very crib. He'd cried all night long and hadn't slept hardly at all. The next few nights had been the same until about a week in when Nate had fixed the rocket mobile for the crib. Shaun slept peacefully in his crib after that. More tears slipped down her cheeks as she sank to the floor in a mass of tears.

She was angry and sad. Angry that she everything she'd ever had, had been ripped away from her. Saddened that she was now forced to face this new world alone. Hate was another thing that she felt so strongly right now as well. She wanted to hate whoever it was that had taken everything from her; whoever had the made the bombs drop, whoever had decided to make Vault 111 a cryogenic experiment, and whoever was behind the kidnapping of her son.

Thinking freshly of Shaun made her want to cry again as she tried to dry the tears that were on her face. Nate was dead, that much she could prove. She'd buried his body behind the house. What she didn't know was where Shaun was. All she knew was that he'd been kidnapped at some point during the last 200 years. He might not even be a baby at this point and that scared her. She desperately wanted to hold onto the idea that her tiny baby boy was still just that, a tiny baby boy. Maybe it was the sadness and the anger or maybe it was the desperation for an answer that she jumped up off the floor and began to gather what she needed for her trip to Diamond City. Shrugging on a jacket and jeans over her vault suit, she replaced her boots on her feet. The backpack had everything she would need: ammo, rations, medical stuff and all the caps she had amassed. Shouldering the pack, she grabbed her handgun and her two favorite rifles before hurrying for the door. Turning back at the last minute, she penned a note for Preston and Sturges. Then she was gone.

She made good time moving through Concord. There was a dispute going on outside of a little diner and when Sofia intervened, the guy shot at her. She ended up killing both the guy and his company because he was a drug dealer who was harassing the diner owner about her son's payment. The owner, Trudy Drumlin, thanked her immensely and offered to barter with her on any goods she should have in the future. It was still dark as she crested the hill heading into Lexington. In the distance, she could see the lights on the Corvega tower and for a moment she stopped to plot a course on the pip boy map. Since she'd already been to the Corvega plant and had it marked on her map, she decided to plot a course around Lexington. The last time she and Preston had come through here it had been nothing more than feral ghouls and raiders. If any of that was true now, she felt she'd rather avoid it so she would go around.

The sun was just coming up over the horizon as she came upon the outskirts of the city of Cambridge. Her sister, Esther, had aspired to attend the Cambridge Institute of Technology. So to see the city in ruins pulled on her heartstrings again. Maneuvering her sniper rifle to her shoulder so that she could see through the scope, she was felt her stomach drop when she saw nothing but feral ghouls wandering through the streets.

Letting a groan escape her lips, she decided that maybe skirting around the majority of the town would be the best course of action, so she did. It wasn't too difficult of a task and as the sun was just over the horizon, she came upon the ruins of the old C.I.T rotunda building. Opting to take a break for breakfast and a little sleep, she sank down into a somewhat hidden alcove along of the exterior of the building. Checking to make sure that she was hidden from anyone who was passing by. Breakfast was a small package of Fancy Lad Snack Cakes and a few sips from a can of purified water. Then she leaned against the wall and, clutching her shotgun, she drifted off to sleep. A short while later she was awakened by something wet pressing against her cheek. Jerking awake with a start, Sofia was in a panic until she realized that it was just Dogmeat.

" _Shesh boy! Don't scare me like that."_ She hissed as Dogmeat growled at her playfully.

" _Sorry for leaving you behind boy."_ She added as Dogmeat whined at her.

Though she wasn't sure how long she'd slept for, she decided that it was about time for her to get moving again. A quick check of the pip boy revealed that it was already almost noon and Sofia realized that she'd slept longer than she'd originally intended. Not far from the C.I.T was the river that separated Cambridge from Boston proper. Most of the bridges seemed to be intact, so she figured it was just a matter of figuring which one was the safest or easiest to cross.

" _What do you think?"_ Sofia asked softly as she glanced down at Dogmeat.

He sniffed the ground and barked as she scoped out the first bridge, the closest one to them. From what she could see, aside from the boat wreck, there was nothing that would impede her trip across. So she moved and Dogmeat followed her. As she climbed up the makeshift bridge, she heard voices from down below her. The boat wreck was occupied by raiders and Sofia swore as she felt a sharp pain in her leg. The pain was intense as she pulled herself up and heaved herself over the other half of the broken part of the bridge. The pain in her leg was fairly intense as she rolled down the other side of the broken bridge. She landed with a thud and a cry as the pain in her leg intensified. By now, however, the adrenalin was pumping and the pain starting to fade as she pushed herself up off the ground and ran the rest of the length of the bridge to the other side.

Once across the bridge, she kept moving forward; even though she had no exact idea of where she was going. Mama Murphy had called Diamond City the "great green jewel of the commonwealth" and while Sofia had a strong suspicion of what sort of place the old woman had been referring to, she had no concrete idea of where she was actually going. A few streets down from the bridge, she finally collapsed into a partially blocked off alleyway. Her leg was searing with pain, and her chest was heaving as she sank into the darkened alleyway. Every bit of consciousness she had was urging her to not sit down and more importantly it was urging her to not lose consciousness. Her body, however, didn't listen to a single bit of the urging as she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

 **A/N: Quite possibly, this is the longest chapter I've ever written for any story EVER. Though I'm frustrated at the direction it's taking already. I really wasn't expecting for the bit of adultness with Sofie and Sturges, but I like how it turned out. I really think that Sturges should have been available as a romantic partner.**


End file.
